Leighton Buzzard man takes on 'brutal' marathon challenge in mum's memory

A Leighton Buzzard man took on the 'brutal' North Yorkshire Moors Trail Marathon to raise money for the hospice his mother worked at and who cared for her in her final days.

Craig Wilson, 36, completed the challenge as part of a fundraising initiative for St Andrews Hospice in Grimsby.

Sadly, his mum Angie Walmsley, aged just 56, passed away in May from cancer. She had worked at the hospice as a palliative nurse for several years, and staff provided care and support to her and her family in her last few days.

Craig said: “My mum was an amazing woman who dedicated her life to caring for others. Before she passed away, she was a palliative care worker for the hospice and visited the homes of patients in need, making sure that they were comfortable and lending an ear to anyone in need whether they were the patients or families of those patients.

“The hospice team were incredible and really supported all of us in our time of need.”

Craig was driven to give something back and set himself the gruelling task of training for the 26-mile long North Yorkshire Moors Trail Marathon.

He set himself a fundraising target of £1,000 but quickly exceeded that with pledges of over £1,500 in the first 36 hours with family, friends and colleagues from Portable Offices – the firm he works for in Luton - quickly jumping on board and supporting his challenge.

“Everyone was so amazing and incredibly supportive, so I raised my target to £2,500 and have nearly reached that,” Craig said.

Craig came 28th out of 49 competitors in a time of six hours and 19 minutes running through the wild moorlands at an elevation of 4,000 feet over rocks and punishing terrain with rough ground and precipitous cliffs.

“The event was extremely tough, not just mentally but physically too. The course was brutal with hills and rocky paths that gave me a few hairy moments. My mum never gave up on anything she set her mind to and she would have been so proud of me to see me doing something to help others as she had for the duration of her career. I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported me and sponsored me.”

Portable Offices manager, Neil Christie, said: “Craig really went above and beyond to achieve his goal and this mirrors his work ethic at Portable Offices. We are incredibly proud of his achievement.”

See Craig's fundraising page here